JDoors

Same here 'cept it's colder (low 40's going up to the 50's). Rain, drizzle, and same with needing it. Finally, my lawn's recovering, just in time for Winter.

You sure had an opportunity to mess around with people's heads there ... "Yeah, meet me at so-and-so park and wait for me, I have what you want." Of course, with those characters it wouldn't be prudent. I've had a few wrong number calls where I was tempted to mess with them, but I never could keep a straight face (err, voice?).

I love Blondie . I used to have a crush on Debbie Harry. Years later I saw her, sans makeup, and thought, "What was I thinking?" But then, we're around the same age so ... I don't have a leg to stand on there (same thing happened with Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders ). Back to Systematic Chaos , on continuous play.

I have gotten pranked before; a girl screaming how much she loved me and wanted to have my baby (she should be so lucky), the pizza delivery prank (never understood how that was supposed to do anything but cost pizza joints money), and one that was probably not a prank, a guy screaming he'd burn my house down (I was to testify against someone in court -- it was probably him or his cohorts, he was that dumb -- this was before call-back or capture services were available). The phone's back on the hook since yesterday, one friend called ("You're phone's working again?") and one hang-up, SO FAR.

Went for a bike ride yesterday, warm & sunny, had some ice cream after. In the MidWest. Al Gore was right! (That's a joke.) I'm looking forward to snow, always loved Winter. During one trip I imagined the road was covered in snow just for enjoyment.

I love the 80's! The Best Of Thompson Twins . ... Hold my hand ...

I never really thought it was the line being bugged, as I alluded to I believe that happened years ago and the evidence was far more subtle than a loud repeating tone (until that time they got it reversed and I was listening to them , or so it appeared). I've gotten the occasional dial-up, computer and fax call, they do start with a tone but then go into that "static" data stream. This is a repeating tone that never ends (even when I hang up, apparently "they" have to end the call). Besides there being no reason to tap, as you pointed out, in addition to the "evidence" being more subtle they

HiLARious!

Yeah, regular's been down as far as $2.50, it's inching back up to ~$2.80 here. A friend of mine is one of those, "OMIGOD GAS IS TOO HIGH THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD FORCE THE OIL COMPANIES TO LOWER PRICES" guys. Right ... he travels all over the country, in an SUV, hauling up to three ATVs, for recreation , then he and his kids drive the ATVs hundreds of miles. Yeah buddy, it's not your recreational choice that's costing you a ton of money, it's the greedy oil companies (there are local places he could use). Me? Prices higher than I like? I drive less and try to maximize my MPG. In other words,

I have nothin' to hide, come and get me! IF there's anything going on, my sense of humor won't help things. I called a friend and as we were talking, partly about the phone problems, there were some odd sounds on the line. After a brief silence from us as we pondered the irony, I said, "OK, we'll have to delay our plans, you know what to do, I'll contact you later." She laughed because one, I'm a funny guy, and two, more importantly, this isn't the first time I've gone through some phone weirdness so it's a running joke by now. At least, I hope it's just a joke.

Thanks a lot! I feel SO much better! Hadn't thought about the unmarked truck being a contractor, that's semi-relieving. I don't see how using an Internet-based phone would make me feel any more secure, same goes for a cell. Like they wouldn't have the technology to "bug" those? (Not that I think I'm being bugged, just can't figure out WHAT it is.) They would have no reason to care what I do, the worst I do is browse political sites (conservative ones at that) and ... well ... you know, the occasional well-known sexy site (nothing bizarre or risky). A long, long time ago my Father go

I've seen an AT&T truck out front twice in the last few days. They placed cones around their truck and after a short time, left, leaving the cones in the middle of the street (which I moved to the curb). The second time they didn't move the cones and left them behind again. Yesterday I received a call, the answering machine picked up, and it was a repeating tone. Not a computer tone, not a fax tone, closer to a dialing tone ... beep ... beep ... beep ... Ignoring it I went about my business. When I came home later that day my phone was dead (very loud static). I traced it to the answerin

I haven't seen that one -- Is it an all new album, or a new compilation? Speaking of compilations: Blues Gold (with a little bit of everybody, too many famous blues musicians to count).

Too much at once! My eyes started crossing before I could finish. Slight correction, but then, are there any other kind?

Ironically, when the burglar sees the Rottweiler he'll call the dog's name: "Jesus!"

OK, so I know I've been obsessing over ... you know who ... So today I've queued up: Buddy Guy Elvis Costello k.d. Lang Pink Floyd Robert Miles Now maybe I can get to sleep without ... you know who ... running through my head.

Their ad copy's not exactly innovative, that's for sure. I've come to the conclusion it's better to religiously change blades twice a year than to pay any attention whatsoever to what brand you use. ANY blade will work for six months. Ok, no, that's not true. I tried those "tri-" blades when they first came out and they almost killed me. During a blizzard they did not work. My theory; each of the three wiping surfaces gets only one-third of the pressure exerted from the arm, meaning, none exerts enough pressure to do anything. They just skip over whatever's on the glass. Like snow. An

Just to keep ya updated, still Systematic Chaos . Yesterday I did listen to a couple of other CDs (after S.C. ran continuously for quite a while), today one other, but .... It's Back! The songs are going through my head as I fall asleep at night. Darned O.C.D.

Unfortunately I'm a cheap old coot (I paid around three dollars, S&H and taxes included, for Systematic Chaos ) and my source for music doesn't have other Dream Theater CDs! Waahhhh!

Ya'll should just assume I'm listening over and over and over to the newest entry in my list of top albums of all time, Dream Theater Systematic Chaos , at least until something blows up or burns out due to cranking it to eleven.

It does look interesting. There's a lot of info about "buying" things and how to use Paypal to do it, so I have to wonder how the game experience goes without ever buying anything. Guess you have your work cut out for you. ------

Holy ... Finally got my copy of Dream Theater 's Systematic Chaos. I'm speechless.

Yup, sounds the same. EXACTLY the same. As long as we're commiserating, how 'bout when you're resolving an issue and the customer has a family member, friend, or even a total stranger who's trying to "help?" "That's not what happened -- she didn't get her money -- this place is a rip-off!" Would you just. shut. up. Please. Wow, I hadn't thought about this one in a long time: Back when we sailed (I'm on a riverboat) a customer approached me as we were docking. He needed ... something. I didn't know what because he only spoke Chinese. Docking is a complex procedure and everybody

It's That 70's (and 80's) Day : Black Sabbath The Cars Emerson, Lake & Palmer Janis Joplin Led Zeppelin